Athletes as political representatives

Athletes are often claimed to be representatives of a wider community, whether that be their club, their nation or humanity as a whole. But in what sense exactly might athletes be understood to be political representatives? The recent philosophy of sport literature has begun to consider how frameworks from political philosophy may inform our understanding of sport . Up to now, though, there has yet to be a detailed investigation of the sense in which athletes may be considered political representatives that draws on philosophical work on political representation. This paper will take up this task by exploring various ways in which athletes can be considered political representatives. I will start by outlining two standard ways in which athletes might act as political representatives: as formal or informal representatives. While athletes can and do fulfil both kinds of representative roles, I will argue that in these cases the role of an athlete and the role of a representative are distinct. I will then outline a third way in which athletes can function as political representatives that involves a closer connection between these two roles: by representing the political to a community. I will finish by exploring the implications of accepting that athletes can function as political representatives in this sense.